* Remark: This statement literally means “I will butcher for her a pigeon”, or as in the alternate version “a pair of pigeons”. People always wonder what does butchering a pigeon or two has to do with a children’s lullaby. It even sounds scary don’t you think. But in fact, there is a very good explanation for this, and most probably the alternate version “I shall butcher a pair of pigeons” is the original and most probable version. Lebanese lullabies extend to ancient times and they are part of a handed down tradition through the ages. The sacrifice of a pair of doves or a pair of pigeons dates to a Hebrew tradition where a sacrificial offering for a first born used to be “a pair of doves or a pair of pigeons”.